Space shuttle Discovery launched for a final time Thursday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending the infamous cloudburst out in its wake.

If you think your car odometer has seen a lot of miles, Discovery has accumulated 143 million.

The shuttle had been part of NASA’s fleet for 27 years.

By year’s end, NASA will say so long to two other long-running shuttles: Endeavor and Atlantis.

No further manned spacecraft missions are planned until 2020, and it might get pushed back further depending upon budget constraints.

It’s a bittersweet moment for NASA and space enthusiasts nationwide — maybe even around the world.

Manned spaceflight has been part of NASA’s operations since 1961 when Alan Shepard Jr. became the first U.S. astronaut in space, albeit not in orbit.

Americans have been able to glance up at the night sky and see shuttles in orbit — they appear almost as fast moving as stars.

A lucky few have traveled to Kennedy Space Center to be able to watch a launch in person. Millions of schoolchildren witnessed launches on TV in school.

Enthusiasts have two final chances to wave goodbye to these well-traveled spacecraft.

Endeavor is slated to launch sometime in April. Atlantis doesn’t have a projected date yet, although the fact that it’s even going up in space at all is a bit of a budgetary miracle after the most recent NASA cuts.

“Space, the final frontier.” That might be the slogan for “Star Trek,” but it seems equally appropriate for NASA.

For now, that frontier is about to be left in the hands of private craft operators, SciFi shows and the Chinese.